guu richmond: its guuu'd

ah guu, delicious authentic japanese food in richmond! guu is an izakaya type place with lunch specials that are different every day and lunch boxes that are available all the time. perfect for any japanese cravings while at aberdeen. 

i usually come here with my mom because she loves izakaya but does not like driving downtown so this location is perfect. we ordered 2 dishes to share and it was more than enough and very delicious! 

overall, i love guu and the variety that is has to offer plus the super fresh fish every time we go, just looking at the pictures makes me wanna go again! (even though i went last week :P) 

nabeyaki udon ($8.80) - udon with prawn tempura, egg, chicken, fish cake and green onion - this was a very good flavourful broth with al dente noodles and a decent amount of toppings. not bad for the price! 

4.25/5

one complaint though was the tempura, the batter was not crispy or flaky enough and we already had it on the side. 

sushi box ($12.95) : tuna, boiled shrimp and salmon sushi, salmon and sweet shrimp sashimi, california roll, egg, grilled mackerel, chicken karaage and rice - this is our go to at guu richmond. it has the perfect variety to please both the fish and deep fried cravings. my mom loves mackerel and this one is good albeit a bit salty. there is also this tiny portion of spicy fish right in the middle and this goes perfect with the rice. 

4.5/5

bubble waffle cafe: no such thing as too many

these group buy deals are killing me! there was one recently for bubble waffle cafe (public market location) with 5 bubble waffles for only 5 dollars. considering that a regular priced bubble waffle ANYWHERE is around 4 dollars, this was a great deal. unfortunately, i redeemed it a bit late and again consumed 5 bubble waffles in two weeks. luckily these ones are DELICIOUS. 

original bubble waffle (regular $3.75) - these were DELICIOUS x10. they reminded me of some of the best i tried in hong kong. they make it fresh in front of you in the tiniest shop imaginable but when you pop them into your mouth, there's a perfect crisp from the shell but the middle is a nice soft fluffy cloud of food heaven. this shop was manned by a couple young guys but they know how to make good bubble waffle. 

(ps. we bought so many that we would retoast them at home and they were still delicious!)

4.75/5

(oops, fail camera focus)

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 

cinnezo: childhood cream cheese frosting

when i was a kid, cinnezo cinnamon bun samples were my favourite about going to metrotown. they were the perfect bite size to really enjoy the sweet and delicious cream cheese frosting and thick cinnamon filling. fast forward to today and they no longer do that but the entertainment book does offer a buy one get one free deal! 

original cinnamon bun (regular ~$5 each): cinnezo is like the cinnabon of canada and they are just as delicious! these are actually best eaten right when you buy them but the instructions on the side help you with reheating. 

4.25/5

they do not skimp on the filling or cream cheese and they are quite heavy but super ooey and gooey in the middle chock full of cinnamon and sugar. super indulgent dessert but a tiny piece (like the one i had below) was just the right amount. 

au petit: banh mi please

au petit is an extremely tiny restaurant that is extremely popular. so well known that if you don't go right at opening, you are guaranteeing a wait, especially on weekends and even the possibility of no more banh mi! 

they are known for their viet sandwiches because of the very crispy, fresh bread that they use. they often sell out of banh mi if you go later in the day - thats how good they are. my parents went for lunch one day and brought one of their subs back for me! 

banh mi 1 ($4.50) - house made vietnamese ham, meatball, vegetables and hot peppers (i got it without peppers) - this is delicious even as take out. their meatball is so juicy and fatty but flavourful at the same time. the pickled veggies help to balance the flavours. just pure deliciousness.

4.75/5

its because of banh mi's that i never get mcdonalds. this is even cheaper than a big mac and 10x better.

nishiki: revist...or re take out order

because nishiki is so close to my house, we often get take out and they introduced a whole bunch of special rolls which arent too expensive so my mom and i tried a few of them over 2 different visits.

again, nishiki isnt bad. its very chinese-style with the rice being quite dense and not very flavourful but i love sauce on sushi and it masks the rice issues. the tempura is fresh fried when you order the roll which i love but it makes the roll a bit warm. some of the rolls get really pricey and its not really worth it. 

top: cambie roll ($7.99): prawn tempura, yam, avocado and crispy bits with spicy sauce - this was just okay. their dynamite roll is basically the same without the crispy bits and costs a lot less so i would go with that instead 

3/5

bottom: killarney roll ($8.99): prawn tempura, spicy tuna, fresh mango - pretty good! this one was better than the cambie but i think $9 is A LOT for the ingredients in this roll. 

3.75/5

golden california roll ($5.49) : deep fried california roll - this was the first place i ever tried deep fried rolls so it has sentimental value but taste is VERY chinese. still delicious though 

3.75/5

top: spicy salmon roll ($4.50?) - pretty good for spicy salmon but i think it might be siracha ontop there or something similar. expensive though.

3/5

bottom: waikiki ($8.99): prawn tempura, salmon, spicy tuna - my mom LOVED this roll and honestly, this one is pretty good. the salmon on top is pretty substantial and of all the special rolls ive tried this is one of the best but warning! there is a wasabi sauce ontop that was not in the description and it was SPICY 

3.85/5

old spaghetti factory: go for the ice cream

so, I went to whistler last march and up there, theres not much to eat and since i was with my aunties from hong kong, we wanted to try something different. 

the wait for a table was RIDICULOUS...but i guess we went around lunch time and there arent many choices in the whistler area. lots of families here too which i know some people dont like but i love (: 

the food here is alright. its nothing amazing but its not inedible either. the prices are moderate and the best thing about this place is the spumoni ice cream you get after (which i forgot to take a picture of!) 

its basically a Neapolitan ice cream but instead of strawberry its a pistachio and it is delicious. also, stick to the pastas here because everything else...not the best. 

green salad (comes with entree): very plan, just lettuce

clam chowder (upgraded entree soup for $2.95): a bit salty but filled with lots of ingredients

3/5

baby back ribs w/yam fries ($17.95): not very moist, as you can see from the picture it looks a bit burnt and it just wasn't all that good...yam fries were okay though

2.5/5

penne with chicken ($13.50): one of the better dishes although the meat to pasta ratio was pretty off as there was A LOT of pasta. the flavour was okay and penne from what i remember was al dente which is the ONLY way to eat pasta. 

3.5/5

back: tomato basil flatbread with goat cheese ($8.25): this was actually pretty good. it had a balsamic glaze that made the whole flavour combo blend beautifully 

3.75/5

front: new york steak w/pasta ($17.50): this was better than the ribs but the meat was still quite chewy and the pasta was just plain pasta. again, STICK TO THEIR PREPARED PASTAS

2.5/5

marble slab: birthday freebies!

marble slab ice cream is delicious BUT a bit overpriced so the only times i go is for birthday freebies

the first picture is from my dad's birthday and the second one from mine. SO IF YOU ARENT SUBSCRIBED TO THEIR NEWSLETTER YET, GO DO IT AND YOU CAN GET FREE ICE CREAM! 

black cherry flavour with pineapple mixing: my parents said it was delicious. creamy but not too sweet! 

cheesecake flavour with brownie mixing: THIS WAS DELICIOUS x100000 their brownies are good and the ice cream was so creamy.

4.5/5

kingsway sushi: post 30hr famine splurge

every year my church group does something called the 30 hour famine where we don't eat for 30 hours and raise money that goes to world vision to provide food for people that don't have a choice whether they get to eat or not. obviously after 30 hours of nothing but juice and water, we are starving so we usually go get some AYCE to fill ourselves up. when we visited kingsway sushi, we were biased into thinking that everything was the best food ever because we were so hungry. 

honestly, its not bad at all since the rolls were fine, the cooked food was fine and it wasnt too expensive being $13.95/person. other than the service which was rude and unattentive (expected from ayce), i would return when in need of a sushi binge. 

cheesy california roll (fried kani, avocado, cucumber and masago)

california rolls, chopped scallop rolls, spicy salmon rolls, dynamite rolls and crunchy roll (dont know whats in there)

chicken kaarage - THIS STUFF IS AMAZING...I LOVE IT 

chicken teriyaki

gyoza 

spicy chicken (flaming lava chicken)

salmon and tuna nigiri

(trust me, this isnt all we had, i just got too hungry to take pictures) 

menchies: cambie freebie!

oh menchies, how i love you so. frozen yogurt is one of my favourite snacks and to show how BEHIND i am on my posts, here is a photo from opening day of menchies cambie street which was AT LEAST 2-3 years ago :P oh well they were handing out free yogurt and at this time, the frozen yogurt boom of vancouver was just starting so there was no line (I KNOW, LONG TIME AGO) anyways, i go all the time and here are just some pictures of a few different visits i found!

i prefer menchies over qoola in terms of texture and the fact that you can try flavours as you please. my favourites are chocolate covered banana, cake batter, new york cheesecake, cookies and cream and nutella. these flavours rotate often and you can check their facebook to see which ones are in!

a little baby cup for the opening day free yogurt! 

chocolate and cake batter flavours with popping boba, mochi and cookie crumbs! 

another visit, with salted caramel, purely tart and chocolate in there somewhere toppings include cookie crumbs, clodhoppers, and cheesecake bites. 

this one is from UBC menchies but same thing... went with a few friends using a groupon where we got 10 dollars worth of menchies for 5, and this is what about 12 dollars looks like! 

this was mine, with chocolate and vanilla, tart, cake batter and erin ireland's banana bread, topped with cheesecake bites, brownie, graham cracker crumbs and oreo bits

prices are $0.55/oz and you need to WATCH HOW MUCH YOU SPOON IN YOUR CUP! 

beefy beef noodle house: good group buy deals!

i love group buy deals. big city perks, living social, social shopper and groupon are all my best friends and imagine my joy when i found one for beefy beef noodle house! it was 6 dollars for 12 dollars worth of food and since i didnt have time to go down there, my mom got take out and boy was it delicious. yes a bit oily but delicious nonetheless. 

salty peppery chicken($6.50): deep fried chicken pieces covered in salt and a bit of pepper. delicious and still crunchy after being put in a box, good portion too

4/5

taiwanese fried noodle ($8.50): good portion full of veggies but there was a lot of liquid, either condensation or oil..cant complain too much since it is take out! 

3.85/5